Melting the Stone Heart
by LoveBackwards
Summary: Mai's stuck in prison and needs a way out. An unexpected person helps, but can he be trusted? JetxMai..Jai?
1. The Neighbor

Disclaimer:

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

**Ok, another crack ship! (Anyone who has read my stories before is probably sighing or rolling their eyes, I have many crack ships) But this is after the Boiling Rock, Mai is in jail, and needs to get out. Jet is alive too, I'll go more into his story in the next chappie!**

XXX

Mai sat in the corner of her cell as she had done for a whole week now. He wasn't coming back for her. She risked her life for Zuko, and he couldn't even come get her? Azula purposely separated Ty Lee and her. She wasn't allowed to leave at all because Azula was around, and until she went back to the Fire Nation, Mai would only see light when she was brought food. The door open and she snapped out of her daze.

"Who's there?" She demanded. She just received 'breakfast' less than an hour ago. A familiar man stepped out of the shadows. "Uncle?"

"Mai, are you alright?"

"I'm fine I guess." She sighed.

"Princess Azula is leaving next week, but she has asked me to put you to work. You will need to be treated like a prisoner, but then I can get you out of here." He hugged his niece.

"I can handle it." She smirked as she returned the embrace.

"You start tomorrow at sunrise with the rest of the prisoners. You'll work, eat, and all that with everyone. I don't want to do this to you." The warden frowned.

"It's ok, honest." She waved as he left. She sat back down. At least she wouldn't be cooped up.

XXX

The next morning, Mai's cell door slid open. She woke up and walked into the hallway. Every prisoner seemed to be doing the same. She put her hand above her eyes to let them adjust to the light. She looked down the row of people and saw them all standing up straight with their hands at their sides. Did she really need to be humiliated like this? She sighed and did as they did. A few guards gave a few, what she thought was, inspections before barking an order at them.

"Section 121!" A guard yelled.

"That's us." A guy on the side of her whispered in her ear. She cocked her eyebrow, but nodded in thanks.

"Quiet!" The female voice ordered. "You get to mop up the basement level. Make it look nice or your punishment will be given to you by the princess! Go!" She pointed and 'her section' ran in the direction. She gave a quizzical stare before shaking her head. She didn't plan on taking orders from these people.

"Let's go." It was the same guy that spoke to her just a few minutes ago. He was tall, his skin was tanned, and he had longer hair.

"I don't want to mop." She said in a bored tone and he chuckled.

"You don't have much of a choice unless you want to deal with Azula." She grunted but followed him in her slow-moving pace. "So, I never thought I'd meet my neighbor." He said as they walked down the steps.

"Huh?" She looked at him.

"I'm in the cell next to yours. You've never been out, have you?" He smirked.

"No…" She whispered. He didn't even know her, why did he have so questions?

"You must've really done something. What are you in for?"

"Don't worry about it." She snapped and then inhaled a deep breath.

"Alright, alright." He held his hands up in defense. "What's your name?" He asked kindly.

"Why do you need to know?" She gave him a harsh glare.

"I guess I don't, but mine is Jet." He offered her a hand to shake. She stared at him a moment before shaking it.

"Mai." She nodded.

"You two! Get to work!" The same guard yelled.

"Come on!" He grabbed her forearm and ran down the rest of the steps. She struggled until they reached the basement.

"Let go of me!" She yanked her arm away.

"Fine, next time, I'll let you get caught." He said proudly. He grabbed two mops and handed her one. She rolled her eyes and took it. "Lunch is in a half hour." He said as he scrubbed alongside her.

"So?" She said as she viciously scrubbed and kept her eyes on the floor.

"You're going to need a place to sit…unless you want to eat in your cell again." He smirked and heard her growl. "Find me when the bell goes off. You can sit with me and a few people I know." He walked away. She wanted to find Ty Lee, but she knew her friend was probably on the opposite side of the prison. She looked up and saw the princess that kept her here walking around the second floor. Mai moved her eyes back to the ground; that was the last person she wanted to see.

XXX

The bell went off and made her jump. She looked up and saw everyone walking in one direction; they seemed immune to the sound. She glanced through the crowd and couldn't find Jet. She didn't depend on his company; she just needed to adjust to the routine before she could be on her own. She felt a finger poke her shoulder and she turned around on contact.

"Looking for me?" He smirked.

"No." She crossed her arms and looked away.

"I'm sure. Follow me." He began to walk away. She didn't like him. He was proud, cocky, and talkative. It was like Azula and Ty Lee combined…well…a guy version obviously. She reluctantly followed him.

XXX

"These are a couple other prisoners. Kenshin, Isamu, this is Mai." He introduced as they sat. She nodded.

"Where'd you meet her?" One of them asked.

"Oh, she's the one that we bet about…you know the cell next to me?"

"You bet?" She cocked her eyebrow.

"Yeah…I thought you died…" Isamu raised his hand.

"I thought you escaped…" Kenshin frowned.

"And I bet she was alive, you both owe me!" Jet laughed.

"So…what did you do?" One of them asked.

"It has nothing to do with you…" She whispered.

"Hm, she doesn't seem like your type, Jet." The other smirked.

"Hey! I'm right here you moron!" Mai tried to stay calm.

"Calm down, they're assholes." Jet smirked.

"Like you?" She challenged.

"Ouch." One of them said.

"Look, I'm done." She got up to leave. Jet got up and walked behind her. "What are you doing?"

"You only have twenty minutes left on your break, unless you know how to get to your cell, you'll be lost for double the time." She grunted but didn't say anything. "You know…this place is escapable." He whispered.

"Yeah, if you have backup." She mumbled back.

"Look, those idiots don't have it in them, but I think you do." He smirked.

"And what makes you think that?" She glanced at him through the corner of her eye.

"You have something you aren't telling me. I want out, and I'm sure you do, too."

"I will be out. Once Azula leaves, the warden will let me out." She rolled her eyes.

"I knew it! You were one of those girls who went crazy on the princess!" He whispered.

"What?" She played dumb.

"The warden is your uncle. You fought against her the day the prince and Sokka escaped!"

"How do you know?" She stood in front of him.

"Who didn't hear about that?" He smirked. "The princess isn't leaving for a while."

"I have more information on that than you do." She turned around and kept walking.

"Just wait. She'll be here, and if she does leave, the warden will be replaced." He smirked. She looked back at him. "Here you are." He pointed to her cell and turned around. She didn't like him, not at all.

XXX

Night came quick, and for the first time in a while, she was tired. Her muscles ached slightly because of the work, but it was better than sitting around all day. Jet's words had really gotten to her. Her door opened and she looked up.

"Mai…"

"Uncle?" She stood up.

"Mai…the princess has decided to leave tomorrow." His expression looked deeply saddened.

"Isn't that good?" She asked with her bored voice.

"I'm afraid…the Fire Lord has decided that I can no longer keep proper control of the Boiling Rock…I'm leaving tomorrow, too." He frowned. Mai felt tears coming on and quickly faced her back to him. "So…I'm stuck here?" She whispered.

"I'm sorry, Mai." He said from behind her.

"I'll be fine." He nodded and left. She knew what she had to do.

XXX

The doors slid open and Mai walked out. She stood up straight properly and her 'section' worked outside today. Jet held a smug look, but to her own surprise, didn't say anything. They walked outside and she grabbed his arm and pulled him in a narrow alley.

"What's up?" He asked casually.

"I am going to help you, but you need to help me in return." She whispered.

"Alright, I'm in." His smirk grew wider.

"We need to find my friend, Ty Lee, before we do anything. She was separated from me."

"That'll be easy. So, allies?" He held out his hand. She hesitated, but shook it. "I'll meet you tonight." He said as he stood up and walked away. She watched him. She was putting her life in the hands of a stranger. Once Ty Lee was around, she would feel better.

XXX

It was already noon. Mai had used any break time she was given to find Ty Lee.

"Mai?" She turned around and saw the grinning girl with her braid.

"Ty Lee." She smirked a little and nodded.

"Oh, Mai!" She hugged her friend. "I never thought I'd see you again!"

"I know." She patted her back. "Ty Lee, we are getting out of here."

"How? Your uncle is gone?" She frowned a bit as she let go and looked at Mai.

"This guy, he has a plan I think."

"Does Mai have a new boyfriend?" She winked.

"No, I don't even know if he's mentally stable, but he's the only hope we can have right now…" Mai looked to her feet. She didn't want to talk about boyfriends; that only brought memories of Zuko.

"Ok!" Ty Lee clapped her hands.

"Meet me here tomorrow at noon. I'll bring him with me." She bowed her head and left.

"Alright!" She waved. One task down, one more to go.

XXX

Mai tapped his shoulder as he walked away. Everyone was being sent to bed; she felt like a child.

"Hey." He turned around and greeted her.

"I have a lot of questions before we do anything. I found my friend earlier; tomorrow you'll meet her at noon. I don't trust you. I need an ally, that is all you are." She got an inch away from his face as she angrily whispered. She backed away and walked to her cell.

"Don't worry; I don't trust me either…" He sighed and followed.

XXX

**Well, this is not one of my top priorities, so I'll update eventually. Please review.**


	2. The Escape

Disclaimer:

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

XXX

The next day went by quickly. At noon, Mai brought Jet to meet Ty Lee.

"Is this him?" Ty Lee smiled.

"Yeah, this is Jet." Mai said with no emotion. They hid in a small closet that held equipment.

"Hey, you're cute." She smiled seductively.

"You aren't so bad yourself." Jet smirked.

"Will you two shut up?" Mai sighed.

"Sorry, I forgot, you found him first." Ty Lee giggled and Mai slapped her forehead.

"Do you have any idea on how to get out of here?" Mai asked Jet.

"Yeah, I know one of the guys that tried their first escaped, the plan is perfect."

"If it was so perfect, why didn't it work?"

"Because they were loud." Jet said irritably, aggravated that he was interrupted. "There's a blind spot with the coolers…"

"We aren't firebenders." Ty Lee frowned.

"I figured one of us could just sneak in." He shrugged.

"Oh yeah, because we all want to freeze our asses off." Mai rolled her eyes.

"Look, we don't have many options." They picked up the anger in his voice.

"Calm down, the last thing we need is a drama queen." Mai said in her bored tone.

"Let's get along!" Ty Lee clapped.

"What about if we do make it through the coolers, how do we get off? This place is an island…" Mai frowned.

"They have boats they bring prisoners in."

"How do you know?" Ty Lee asked.

"its how I was brought here."

"And after we leave…where do we go?" Ty Lee asked another question.

"Anywhere for cover." Jet smirked. "I'll unscrew the cooler tonight. I'll steal keys or something, but Ty Lee, we need to know where your cell is."

"It's…" Ty Lee brought her index finger to her chin. "543!" She exclaimed.

"Shit…she's four floors separate than us…" Jet sighed.

"I'll wait for you to get the cooler out, then you can go for Ty Lee." Mai suggested.

"But then if you get caught, you'll take the fall…" He went into deep thought. "It will hold. I'll undo it and get you out, and then Ty Lee. We'll race for the cooler."

"You really have no idea what you're doing…do you?" Mai cocked her eyebrow.

"We'll wing it. We need to get out of here, though. People will get suspicious if we're gone too long." Jet began to leave. They nodded and followed him.

"Bye, Jet!" Ty Lee waved. He looked over his shoulder and waved back. "I don't see the problem, he is really, really cute, Mai." She smiled.

"Ty Lee, we barely know him and then there's…" She looked to the ground.

"Zuko?"

"Yeah…" She whispered.

"I'm sorry…" Ty Lee folded her hands behind her back and frowned.

"It isn't your fault." She took a deep breath. "I'll have him get you out tonight…" She walked away.

XXX

Jet waited until the guard walked by until he picked his own lock. It was simple enough with some tools he kept with him from the day's work. He quietly shut the door behind him. He walked by Mai's cell on his way and she stood up.

"Unlock mine now." She whispered.

"Then you might get caught." He said through the door.

"I said let me out." She said a little more harshly. He rolled his eyes and went through the keys he 'found'. After trying a bunch of them, he found the right one. He slowly opened her door and she came out. "I'll handle the cooler, you go for Ty Lee." She put her hand out as a sign for him to give her any tool or weapon he acquired.

"What?"

"I've had plenty of…practice with sharp objects. I will handle myself just fine." He rolled his eyes and gave her keys for the cooler and the wrench. "I'll be in 112." She walked down. He watched her disappear into the darkness of the hallway, and then went for Ty Lee.

XXX

Mai played with the locks a bit before getting the door to open. She walked inside and quietly shut the door. It was cold. She shivered before tending the screws that kept it in place.

XXX

Jet found Ty Lee's cell and unlocked it.

"Jet!" She smiled and hugged him. He shushed her and pulled her by the wrist to find Mai, he didn't want her to freeze. "Where are the guards?" She whispered as she ran.

"I don't know." As if on cue, about ten soldiers appeared from the shadows.

"I'll take them!" She did a front handspring and jumped behind them. She punched and kicked with a quick speed and in less than five minutes, they were all motionless on the ground.

"Wow…" Jet stared in amazement. He didn't have his weapons, so he couldn't do much.

"Come on, Mai is waiting!" She ran ahead of him.

XXX

Mai licked her upper lip as she finished with the last screw. The door slid open and she snapped her neck to see Jet and Ty Lee. She nodded.

"Ready?" He asked.

XXX

They rolled the cooler to the ground and set it in the water. They jumped on and only then did Ty Lee notice Mai shivering.

"Are you ok?"

"I was in a cooler for about a half hour, I'm just cold." She said as she rubbed her forearms.

"That sucks." Jet laughed.

"We need to stay quiet, guys." Ty Lee said; they nodded in agreement.

XXX

After they were on the other side of the wall the volcano formed, they saw about fifty boats docked, with about one hundred soldiers guarding them.

"This will be easy…" Jet smirked.

"What boat do we want?" Mai whispered.

"I like the one on the end!" Ty Lee pointed and then ran at the guards in front of it.

"That one it is." Mai sighed.

"Aren't you going to help her?"

"I have no knives, idiot."

"Here." He handed her three throwing knives.

"Where did you get these?" She glanced at him.

"Don't worry about it." He smirked and ran to help Ty Lee, Mai smirked too. She three the knives and they hit three soldiers and pinned them against a wall. Ty Lee quickly ran by and made their bodies fall limp. They brought down all the soldiers with ease, except one who was to control the ship.

"We made it!" Ty Lee smiled, and then looked at Jet. "So why were you there?"

"I helped the Avatar in Ba Sing Se, but we went for their bison and I told them to leave. I had two of my friends, but we got caught. I was their leader, so they were sent to another prison." He frowned.

"I think they'll be ok." She smiled at him. "Mai and I went against Azula because Mai and Z-" She was cut off.

"Drop it, Ty Lee." Mai stood up and walked away.

"What happened?" He whispered.

"She used to be with Zuko, and…"

"I can still hear you!" Mai yelled from her room.

"Is he a firebender?" Jet whispered.

"Yeah…" Ty Lee frowned. "I think she likes you, though." She winked.

"I do not, Ty Lee!" She shouted again. "And stop talking about me!"

"Sorry!" Ty Lee yelled back. "She's a really good person; she just has a hard shell."

"I said stop!"

"We weren't talking about you!" Jet yelled.

"But yeah, that's her life story…"

"How about you?"

"What do you mean?" She cocked and eyebrow.

"Are you single?" He smirked as he saw her blush.

"Yes." She smiled seductively.

"Maybe when we get off this boat, we could hook up."

"Maybe we could." She smiled.

XXX

Mai was up at sunrise, it was a habit she developed thanks to Azula. She sighed and walked on the deck. Jet was already leaning over the railing…great.

"Morning." He said without looking at her.

"Hi." She walked to the side of him.

"You seem so…quiet."

"Maybe because I am…" She sighed.

"You need to lighten up a bit." He smirked.

"No, I think I'm just fine."

"I don't. I think that eventually, you'll break. You're just holding it all in." He looked back to the water.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She crossed her arms.

"You want to just let it all out…" He said slowly as he held his proud look.

"And you just know everything, don't you?"

"Pretty much." He heard her growl under her breath and walk away. He would get her to open up.

XXX

"Hi Jet, have you seen Mai?" Ty Lee walked up to him.

"No, I haven't. Want me to find her?"

"Well…it wasn't important…I just wanted to talk to her." She looked to the ground. "She's really shut herself off since Zuko left…"

"Yeah? Well…what was she like before he did?" He asked, trying not to show too much interest.

"She wasn't too different, just not so cold. She's really upset and I know that's part of the reason she seems so…hostile to you."

"Hm…how about if I talked to her…"

"Good luck with that. She barely talks to me anymore." She frowned.

"Um…" The soldier steering the ship poked his head over the railing. "We're near land. It's actually visible."

"What territory?" Jet asked.

"Fire Nation." Ty Lee saw something in his eyes. It was almost evil, but just as quick as it appeared, it vanished.

"Keep going. We might make it by tonight." He looked to Ty Lee. "We could have some fun with this. I'll go tell her." He walked to the inside of the ship. She gulped. His eyes looked so violent, but his expression was calm.

XXX

Mai heard a light tap on her door before it opened.

"What do you want Ty…what are you doing here?" She glared.

"Just letting you know we'll be in the Fire Nation tonight. Be ready to leave this ship."

"And where do you suggest we stay?"

"We'll find somewhere. Might want to rest now, though." He watched her over his shoulder as he left.

XXX

"Mai!" Ty Lee swung the door open. The sun had gone down hours ago. "We're in the Fire Nation." She said with a smile. Mai sighed and stood up. They walked off the ship and looked at the city. They were in the capital city and the streets were crowded.

"What do we do with the guy in the ship?" Mai asked as she walked to where Jet and Ty Lee waited.

"We just tied him up and left him there. Somebody will find him eventually." Jet shrugged.

"What? You can't just leave him!" She yelled.

"I think we should bring him with us!" Ty Lee smiled. Jet rolled his eyes and swung his arms around their shoulders as he walked between them to the city.

"If we take him, he'll rat us out. We won't get a second shot at escaping that place, so let's just say…we never met him and enjoy the night." He smirked. Mai shook his arm off her shoulder and Ty Lee cart wheeled ahead of them.

"Ok! Where are we meeting?"

"How about…right here, after we look around." Jet walked with Ty Lee and Mai stayed a few feet behind.

"I want to shop!" Ty Lee looked at Jet.

"With what money, Ty Lee?" Mai stared.

"This money, here. Don't forget where to meet us!" He shouted as she disappeared through the crowd.

"Where's that money from?" Mai whispered as they walked.

"Calm down, so uptight." He looked down at her. "How about somewhere to eat? I bet you're hungry." He nudged her with his elbow.

"No…not really." She said as she scanned the area. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside a restaurant. "I said no." She angrily whispered.

"Table for two." Jet said as he ignored her.

"Here you are; I will be right with you and your girlfriend." The waiter bowed.

"Alright." He smirked and she glared from across the table. "See, this is nice."

"No, this is pathetic…"

"You're really negative. After this, we'll party, k?"

"No, after this, I hope I never need to see you again and we can move on with our lives." She said with a blank face.

"Don't worry; I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of each other. Ty Lee really likes me, why don't you give me a chance?"

"Ty Lee and I are opposites."

"Obviously…" he mumbled.

XXX

"So, did you like it?" Jet asked as they stood up.

"It was alright." She shrugged.

"Here is the bill." The waiter handed it to him as he walked by. Jet skimmed through it and put it on the table.

"What are you doing?" Mai asked.

"One…"

"Jet." She repeated.

"Two…"

"This isn't funny." She whispered.

"Three!" He grabbed her wrist and ran out.

"Hey!" The owner ran out but they were lost in the mob of people.

"You didn't…" She glared as she pulled her wrist away.

"Loosen up. We shouldn't stay too long, though. We should find Ty Lee and make a camp somewhere outside the city…"

"Don't tell me what to do…"

"You seem like you would do what you're told." He looked at her through the corner of his eye and met her harsh glare. "Alright, I think that crossed the line for you, but I just can't tell." He smirked as he stepped closer to her. She gave him an angry expression and he chuckled.

"There you are!" Ty Lee smiled as she ran up. "I thought I lost you!"

"Let's go make camp." Mai said as she stepped away from Jet.

"Ladies first." He put his hand to his side and let them walk by him. Mai grunted and Ty Lee bowed her head. He sighed. This would be an interesting night.

XXX

**Please review, I really like to know what other people think!**


	3. Mai's Losers

Disclaimer:

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

XXX

Jet set up a fire and the three of them formed a triangle around it. There was nothing but silence.

"Maybe we can find Zuko and…" Ty Lee stopped herself from trying to make conversation.

"I'd rather not." Mai sighed.

"I would. I know them." Jet smirked.

"We don't even have a lead on them, so why bother…" Mai stared into the fire.

"Then what do you insist we do? Sit around like blobs?"

"We could…you guys could join the circus with me!" Ty Lee exclaimed.

"Or not…"

"That will bring too much unwanted attention to us…" Jet looked up to Mai who sat across from him. "We'll just keep low profiles until we decide…maybe we could find my friends."

"Yay! A rescue mission! Let's do it!" Ty Lee smiled.

"Go ahead, I'm done with prisons."

"You owe me. I not only set you free, I bought you dinner."

"You barely did anything and you didn't even pay!" She snapped.

"You guys went on a date?" Ty Lee asked with a smirk.

"I like to think of it as that." He jokingly winked at Mai.

"No!" She shouted.

"That's so cute!" Ty Lee folded her hands in front of her and jumped a little.

"Ty Lee, don't start." She said through her teeth.

"Am I that bad?" Jet taunted.

"Yes."

"We should get some sleep." He suggested.

"Ok, I'm tired…" Ty Lee yawned. She lay down where she sat and closed her eyes. Mai glared at Jet.

"I hate you." She whispered as Jet crawled to the side of her. She didn't even meet his gaze.

"I seem to get that a lot." He shrugged.

"Why did you help me? Before you even knew me." She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them.

"I told you that you were a good fighter. You are pretty good with those knives."

"But how did you know?"

"Usually people who are stand-offish have something they're hiding. Plus, you I know you must've done something pretty bad ass to stay in that cell for so long." He glanced at her.

"Well…thanks, I guess." She looked over to him.

"Your welcome." He said proudly. "How did you meet her?" He pointed to the sleeping Ty Lee.

"When we were younger we went to the Fire Nation Academy for Girls with Azula. We were best friends…things change…" She sighed.

"You two still seem close."

"We're all we have left. I don't plan on seeing my parents soon, and she ran away to the circus a few years ago. She has six sisters I think…" She watched Ty Lee peacefully sleep.

"She has a lot of energy." He smirked.

"What about you? Who are your friends?"

"Oh, so you do have an interest in me?" He cocked his eyebrow and she rolled her eyes. Her cheeks were the slightest pink, but he noticed it. "The only ones that are Freedom Fighters that came with me are Smellerbee and Longshot. Smellerbee was like my little sister, I always looked out for her, but I think Longshot will take care of her for now…" He frowned.

"What about your family?"

"My parents were killed by firebenders when I was eight." His expression saddened, then went angry. "That's why I started the Freedom fighters. It was a bunch of kids whose parents were killed. We started to go against the Fire Nation…" He looked to the ground.

"I'm sorry…" She frowned. She didn't expect that.

"It's not your fault…I kind of went crazy with it, though. I attacked everyone from the Fire Nation I could, and now, I'm working with you." He laughed a little.

"I know you were mentally unstable." She smirked and he looked down at her.

"Hey, you're smiling." He said as he faced her.

"Am not." She looked away.

"Oh, come on. Tomorrow, I figured we could…gear up." He looked to the sky as he rested his head on the grass.

"What do you mean?" She looked down to him.

"Ty Lee is fine, but we need some weapons. I figured I could give you knives and whatever else you like throwing, I know what I need, then we won't be so paranoid…" He said seriously.

"I'm not paranoid." She sighed. He shot his back up and pointed.

"Fire Nation soldiers!" He yelled.

"Where?" Mai stood up and looked around frantically. She realized he was testing her and looked back down. He was holding his ribs while laughing.

"If you aren't paranoid now, I'd hate to see you." He said as he wiped a tear from his eye. She grunted and sat back down. She slapped his shoulder. "Hey, I'm not the one lying." He smirked.

"You're stupid." She sighed as she lie on her back and look at the stars with him.

"And I bet you know everything." He smirked up at her.

"I never said that."

"So youre admitting to being stupid?" He cocked his eyebrow at her.

"No, I never said that either!" She heard her tone increase a little and quieted down right away.

"Why do you hate me?" He whispered in her ear. She blushed and scooted away. "Maybe you don't even hate me, you just like me more than you want to." He gave her a knowing look.

"You're crazy…" She mumbled as she looked to the ground.

"I know…goodnight." He whispered as he folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"Night." She mumbled. Her hands were folded on her stomach, but she didn't sleep. She looked over to her friend and saw the 'sleeping' Ty Lee with an ear-to-ear grin on her face. She was awake the whole time. She sighed and went to sleep.

XXX

Mai groaned as the sun hit her eyes. She immediately brought her hands up to shield it. She opened her eyes again and saw Jet leaning over her.

"What the hell?" She sat up.

"We've been waiting, let's go." He said proudly as he stood up. He walked ahead of them, but Ty Lee waited for Mai, she knew why.

"Hi Mai." Ty Lee tried to hold back whatever it was she was about to let out.

"Ty Lee." She bowed her head as her friend walked alongside her.

"So…what happened after I went to sleep?" She smirked.

"I know you were up." She rolled her eyes.

"No I wasn't." She smirked.

"Nothing happened." She quickly paced ahead of her before there were more questions.

"I think you like him, I mean, look how quick you're walking to catch up with him." She whispered. Mai stopped dead in her tracks.

"Are you two coming?" Jet looked over his shoulder. Mai stopped whatever it was she was about to say and nodded. They walked with him.

"Where are we going?" Ty Lee asked.

"Mai and I will get some weapons…maybe some new clothes, too." He twisted his face into disgust as he looked down at what he was wearing.

"Can I help with the clothes?" She asked.

"Not mine." Mai said quickly.

XXX

Mai found clothes very familiar to her old ones, Ty Lee did too, but they were red, and Jet wore basic clothes. They walked inside the shop and Jet saw exactly what he was looking for. Two swords with hook-like ends and sharp points below the handle. They were like his. They were his. They must've gotten sent here after they were taken from him. He glanced around to make sure nobody was looking before he tucked them in his belt. He walked through the store and it didn't take long to find Mai and Ty Lee. Mai was smirking as she ran her index finger along the sharp edge of a throwing knife and Ty Lee looked bored out of her mind.

"Find anything?" He asked as he scanned around him.

"Why are you so uptight?" She asked without looking at him. She put the knife down and picked up another one.

"I'm not; we just shouldn't stay in one area too long." He still didn't stop looking around. She rolled her eyes and put down the knife. She looked him in the eye.

"What did you do?" She whispered.

"Nothing, just get what you need so we can go." He whispered back.

"You did something." She said through her teeth.

"No, I didn't." She rolled her eyes and took a knife. She pushed his back against the wall and held it at his neck.

"These aren't just for throwing, now tell me." Ty Lee gasped and took a step back. He rolled his eyes and pulled out his swords. "That's it?" She cocked her eyebrow as she stepped back.

"These were mine before I got caught; I was just taking them back." He shrugged and tucked them back.

"Whatever." She saw knives like her old ones. They opened up to three blades and she smirked. "I want these."

"Fine." He said and they went to pay. Ty Lee stared in confusion. Mai hid her newly acquired weapons in her sleeves. "I don't feel so safe now that you have those." He smirked.

"You shouldn't." The ends of her lips twisted into a small smile. Ty Lee stayed behind a little with a smile on her face. For once, Mai seemed to actually be feeling better since Zuko left. They reached their camp.

"How do you aim them?" He asked.

"Well…how do you aim your swords?" She asked seriously, it wasn't that hard…not for her. He smirked and stepped behind her. He wrapped his hands around her wrists.

"You swing them like this." He whispered in her ear as he moved her arms. She pulled away from him. "I just wanted to answer your question." He winked and Ty Lee giggled.

"Fine, I'll answer yours." She smirked and held up her knives. She began swinging them and he ran and ducked to avoid them.

"What the hell?" He dodged them.

"I just wanted to answer your question." He smirked and ran to her. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands so close they touched his chest.

"Man, you are a feisty one." He smiled and she blushed as she tried to get out of his grasp.

"You guys are so cute together." Ty Lee smiled.

"Aren't we?" Jet put his arm over Mai's shoulder and she pushed him. He fell on his back.

"No." She smirked.

"See, I think you like him, Mai."

"I get that feeling to." Jet stood up. Mai just nodded her head and sat near Ty Lee.

"You guys are losers…" Mai frowned.

"But we're you're losers!" Ty Lee hugged her. Jet sat on the other side of Mai.

"I can be whatever you want me to be." He smiled and she slapped her forehead. To think these were the only choice in friends she had right now. Though, she couldn't help but smile a little.

XXX

**Once again, please review! I made 2 Jai AMVs, my youtube link is in my accout/bio. The songs I used where Gone Forever-Three Days Grace and Bleeding Love-Leona Lewis. Please watch them, too. XD**


	4. Confrontation

Disclaimer:

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

XXX

The moon was full as the three stared at the stars.

"The sky is so pretty tonight." Ty Lee smiled.

"I guess…" Mai sighed.

"Well…it's bright and pretty, so why would you like it?" Jet smirked.

"We never really got to watch the stars in the Fire Nation." Ty Lee, Jet, and Mai all lay on their back as they stared up.

"We were with Azula, she had us working all day."

"I used to always see them…I was in a forest."

"Cool!" Ty Lee said with her grin.

"No its not…." Mai rolled her eyes.

"You're just jealous." He turned his head to face her.

"Yes, I, who got anything I wanted, daughter to the noble, am jealous of a tree climbing psychopath." Mai rolled her eyes.

"And I, the psychopathic tree climber, am jealous of the noble's daughter's sarcasm." Jet played with the piece of straw that he had in his mouth.

"I figured." Mai smirked.

"Guys! Mai is joking!" Ty Lee rolled to her side and looked at them.

"I'm being serious." Mai sat up and looked over Jet.

"You guys are ruining the moment." Jet interrupted them.

"What moment?" Mai cocked her eyebrow down to him.

"I don't know…I thought it was just a moment…." He shrugged.

"Why do you chew on that? It's so annoying." Mai ripped the straw out of his mouth.

"Hey!" He jumped up and landed on top of her. He snatched it back and put it in his mouth. "Don't touch my straw." He said as he lay back down.

"That's weird." Ty Lee laughed.

"You're both weird." He said seriously.

"Mai, I think you made him in a bad mood." Ty Lee frowned.

"Good." She lay back down on her back.

"This reminds me of the time we were at the beach." Ty Lee said.

"Beaches suck…"

"We should go to a beach." Jet suggested.

"Yay! Let's do it!"

"No…" Mai groaned.

"I bet you'd look real nice in a bathing suit." He winked. She blushed and nudged him.

"Can I go for a walk?" Ty Lee sat up.

"Go for it." Jet smiled at her. She nodded and left. She would use any excuse to leave them alone.

"Do you think she'll be ok?" Mai asked.

"She can take out a freaking Fire Nation army in under ten minutes; I think she'll be fine."

XXX

Ty Lee had been walking a while before realizing she was, indeed, lost. She frantically scanned the darks woods, and saw a clearing. She ran to it and saw there was a cliff. She frowned and sat down. She heard what sounded like a platypus-bear roaring, but it was louder. She jumped and slowly walked to the cliff. She heard it again, but realized it was right below. She jumped a little and looked down. There was a vine and what looked like upside down buildings. She slowly climbed down, she was scared, but maybe there were people here that could help her. She quietly hit the ground and saw the source of the sound right away. The Avatar's bison. She looked around it and saw them all sleeping. She gulped and went back for the vine.

"Ty Lee?" A familiar voice asked. She squeezed her eyes shut and stopped moving.

"Yeah?" She whispered.

"Ty Lee…where is Mai?" Zuko walked up behind her.

"Haha…funny story." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I really don't know."

"Ty Lee." He gave her a knowing look.

"No, really, I'm lost. I'm going for her right…now." She realized what she just said.

"So you are with her?" He asked.

"Yeah…" She mumbled.

"I'm coming with you." He walked back into the temple.

"What? Zuko, you can't!" She chased him. He shook Sokka's shoulder.

"Mmm? What?" Sokka faced him, groggy eyed.

"I'm going with Ty Lee for Mai." Zuko whispered.

"Your girlfriend that you locked in a cell?" He mumbled.

"Yeah."

"I guess I should go." He yawned.

"No, guys, really, I'll be fine." Ty Lee smiled.

"Why should you go?" Zuko asked.

"You helped me save my girlfriend."

"Look…wait…you have a girlfriend?" Ty Lee frowned.

"Alright, leave a note and let's go." Zuko sighed.

"Are you even listening to me?" Ty Lee demanded.

"Love always….Sokka…and…Zuko." Sokka licked his upped lip as he finished. "Alright, let's go."

"But!" How did she explain Jet?

"Look, we'll take you back and maybe you guys could travel with us." Sokka smiled.

"Haha…maybe." She nervously laughed.

XXX

"We're all alone." Jet smirked as he rolled on his side and propped his head up on his elbow.

"Don't get any ideas." She said without facing.

"What does that prince got that I don't?" He smirked. She glared at him before returning her gaze to the sky.

"Class." She whispered.

"So what, he didn't know how to have fun?" He said proudly.

"No…he just…we kind of grew up together." She blushed at the thought.

"Obviously, you didn't know him as well as you thought." He scooted closer.

"You don't know what you're talking about…" She mumbled.

"I'm sure I don't." She didn't even realize he was an inch away from her. She blushed even more and rolled over so her back was faced to him. "What's wrong, Mai?" He whispered and she felt a shiver run down her spine.

"N-nothing. Don't touch me." She said without facing him.

"What? Like this?" He put his hand on her hip and her body jumped.

"Don't put your hands on me." She said and slapped his hand.

"Fine." He gently pressed his lips against her neck. "Is that better?" He whispered. She turned around, but when she did, his lips crashed against hers. When her hands touched his shirt to push him away, she ended up clutching it and pulling him closer. He backed away with a smirk. "I guess so." She rolled her eyes and scooted away.

XXX

"Gee…I really don't know what way I came from." Ty Lee laughed as they walked through the forest.

"Guys…the sun is coming up…."

"And?" Zuko aksed.

"I need some sleep, Ty Lee." He glared.

"You know where they are."

"No I don't!" She said quickly.

"Then why are you so defensive?" Zuko asked.

"I really got lost when I was leaving Mai and J…" She stopped herself.

"Mai and who?" Zuko said through his teeth.

"Calm down." Sokka put a hand on his shoulder.

"Mai and this guy that helped us…" She looked to her feet. She then looked into his eyes that revealed hurt. "I'm sorry."

"I need to talk to her." Zuko walked deeper into the woods. Sokka and Ty Lee looked at each other and nodded before following.

XXX

"We should go for Ty Lee." She stood up.

"I'm telling you, she's fine." He shrugged.

"She's been gone for a while…are you coming or not?" She began to walk away. He sighed and obediently followed her.

XXX

Mai lead the way through the large woods. She went in the direction Ty Lee set of in. She heard rustling in the bushes, but it was more than one person.

"Who's there?" She swung her knives.

"Oh, what a great way to start the freaking day!" A male voice said.

"Will you shut up?" She knew that voice. Her body trembled and she took a few steps back.

"Mai! We're over here." She saw Ty Lee run out. "I got lost and…" She stared into Mai's wide eyes. Never had she seen the girl so pail.

"Who is it?" Jet asked.

"Zuko…" Ty Lee whispered. Jet ran to where they were pinned. Mai just stood there…what should she do?

XXX

"Come out; come out where ever you are." Jet used his swords to push the bushed and branches out of the way. He saw Sokka and Zuko pinned to the trees.

"Oh, and now the crazy guy finds us…just great." Sokka sighed. Jet studied them.

"I know you're Sokka…but your name was Lee." He smirked as he stepped in front of Zuko. "Why don't you tell me the truth, Zuko?"

"How do you know my name?" He demanded.

"Oh, Mai told me all about you." He used his swords to whack the knives that pinned him to the tree away. He saw his expression get angry. Zuko pulled out his broadswords from behind his back and they clashed with Jet's.

"Eh…a little help?" Sokka asked only to be ignored.

XXX

"Mai, I really, really didn't mean to…" Ty Lee still got no response. Mai wasn't even looking at her.

"What did you do to her?" They heard a yell.

"Zuko…" She whispered and ran. Ty Lee frowned and followed.

XXX

"So you were not only a firebender, you were their prince!" Jet laughed. He used the hook of his sword to wrap around his ankle. Zuko fell on his back.

"Stop!" Mai came through the trees.

"Shit…" Sokka mumbled. Zuko lost any color he had in his face.

"Mai…" He stood up and walked up to her.

"What do you want from me?" She asked in a low voice.

"Can I…talk to you?"

"The last time I talked to you, you locked me in a cell." She said seriously.

"Ouch…" Sokka muttered and got glares from both of them.

"He's the only reason I'm not in there rotting right now!" She angrily pointed to Jet whose expression couldn't be smugger.

"Mai…I never wanted to…" Zuko took a step forward and she took a step back.

"Stay away from me."

"Mai…"

"Can you stop talking to someone that hates you for one second and let me down?" Sokka interrupted. Ty Lee went up and pulled out the knives that held him intact.

"Zuko, I'm done." She crossed her arms and bit her lower lip to fight the tears.

"You don't mean that." He walked closer again. Jet wrapped his arms around Mai and crossed his swords.

"I think she does." Zuko snarled in response. Mai pushed Jet's arms aside and stared at the prince.

"Well…can you guys come with us? We're planning on how to overthrow Ozai." Sokka offered.

"There will be way too much tension for that."

"Think about it Mai…they have shelter and power. Plus their nice…" Ty Lee started.

"Look, if you want to come than come, if not stay here." Sokka shrugged.

"We'll go." Mai finally answered and they nodded. Sokka and Ty Lee walked ahead as Ty Lee babbled and the three of them just stood there. Mai wrapped her arm around Jet's and walked ahead of Zuko. His expression was soft as was hers.

"Are you alright?" Jet whispered.

"I'll be fine." She whispered with a cracking voice.

XXX

**The reason this update is so late…there honestly aren't enough reviews to motivate me. so, if I get more I'll write faster. Please, please, please, please review! XD**


	5. Boo!

Disclaimer:

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

XXX

"We're back." Sokka stretched and yawned as they entered the temple.

"Where did…Ty Lee?" Katara took on a stance.

"Yeah, she came back with us." Zuko entered next. Then Mai. "So did she." Sokka pointed. Then Jet slid down the vine. "And apparently they come in a package because I couldn't get rid of him."

"Jet…" Katara's eyes got wide.

"What's going…on?" Aang's voice trailed off.

"Hey, it's Katara's boyfriend."

"Miss me?" He winked.

"How…"

"I was sent to the Boiling Rock after the Dai Li got me." He shrugged.

"Welcome to the family." Toph punched his arm.

"I am so going to bed." Sokka lazily walked by them all. "Jet, touch my sister and I'll kill you." Everyone stared at the three newest members of the group.

"So…are you tired?" Aang smiled.

"You bet!" Ty Lee replied happily. "I didn't sleep all night!"

"Neither did we." Jet smirked as Zuko glared at him. "Mai and I were up all night." He taunted.

"That's it!" Zuko went to lunge at him but Katara and Aang held him back.

"He's just trying to get to you, stupid." Mai rolled her eyes. "Can I have a room?"

"Right…follow me." Suki led her down a hall.

"What about me?" Jet asked smugly.

"There are two rooms this way." Suki signaled for him and Ty Lee to follow. Zuko snarled.

XXX

Mai and Ty Lee sat in their new room. They shared and Jet slept across the hall. The sun had gone down hours ago.

"Mai?" Zuko walked in.

"What?"

"Can I…talk to you?"

"Talk."

"Alone?" She rolled her eyes and stood up. They walked to his room.

"Mai…I love you."

"Don't say that."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not true." She looked down to her lap. He gently grabbed the bottom of her chin so she faced him.

"Yes it is."

"You really hurt me…"

"I didn't mean to…just…please?" He pleaded.

"You're such a loser." She playfully hit his shoulder. She thought about Ty Lee and Jet…'her' losers and smirked a little. That was what she hated most about Zuko, he was always easily forgiven. He moved forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered as he wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest and looked out to the hallway. She saw Jet and frowned…he wasn't looking at her, he was talking to Katara. She saw the girl's face get red as she looked to her feet and Mai growled. "Mai?" He looked down to her.

"Huh? What?" She looked up to him.

"Do you forgive me?"

"Yeah…just don't do anything that stupid again." She pecked his cheek and walked out.

"Hey." Jet walked alongside her as Katara went the opposite way.

"Hi." She quickly paced.

"What's your hurry?" He kept up with ease.

"I'm not in a hurry." She couldn't meet his gaze.

"Yes you are, what did princey tell you?"

"He…was sorry." She looked up as they reached her room.

"Did you forgive him?"

"Yeah…" She answered sheepishly.

"Good for you." He half-heartedly smiled, but she saw hurt in his eyes.

"Ah! There you guys are!" Ty Lee jumped between them. "Jet wanna sleep in our room tonight?"

"What?" Mai blurted.

"It doesn't feel right without him here." She smiled. "Did something happen?"

"No." Jet answered for her.

"Oh, then do ya want to?"

"Only if Mai wants me to." He smirked to her.

"I guess." She rolled her eyes.

"Who do I share a bed with?"

"You can share with me!" Ty Lee smiled. Mai glared at them.

"Can I share with Mai?"

"No." She quickly answered.

XXX

After about an hour of Ty Lee talking, the girl in pink finally fell asleep. Jet stood up from where he lay on the girl's bed.

"Where are you going?" Mai whispered.

"To bed." He pulled back her bangs and kissed her forehead before leaving.

XXX

Mai opened her eyes and felt the warmth of someone on the side of her.

"Zuko…" She mumbled.

"Try Jet." Came the familiar voice. Her eyes snapped open and she looked behind her. he was lying on his back playing with one of her throwing knives.

"What are you doing here?"

"I woke up a little while ago and decided to see if you were up…these things are pretty cool." He smirked as he toyed with the weapon.

"Give that back!" She reached over to grab it but he extended his arm to the other side and held her back with his other arm. It was just out of reach.

"You can't get it." He taunted. She growled and lunged her body forward. They both fell on the side of the bed. He jumped to his feet and she did the same.

"That isn't a toy!" She walked up to him.

"Come and get it!" She ran at him and he ran away. She snarled.

"Jet! Get back here!" He pushed Zuko out of the way and the prince watched in confusion as his girlfriend chased the former freedom fighter.

"Make me!" He looked over his shoulder, then looked forward and realized he was about to run into Sokka, who was sitting with Suki. He jumped over them and their heads ducked. Mai ran around them.

"This isn't funny!"

"No? Then why are you smiling?" They ran into the kitchen and she felt herself blush a little.

"What's going on?" Katara asked as she watched them. He ran into a pile of boxes, that most likely held their supplies, and Mai landed on top of him. She struggled to pry her knife from his hand. They rolled on the ground until they realized they were no longer in the kitchen…they were in front of the group that was being served breakfast. Mai sat on top of him and everyone stared, wide-eyed.

"Uh…good morning?" Sokka scratched the back of his neck. Mai snatched her knife and walked in the direction of her room. Jet laughed as he followed her.

"You are the biggest ass." She pushed his arm.

"But you're smiling." He pointed to her lips.

"You know I hate you?" She smirked as she looked up to him.

"Just keep telling yourself that." He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind as they walked.

"Get off me, someone might see us." She glanced around.

"But you don't care…right?" He rested his head on her shoulder.

"Yes, I do." She tried to look over his shoulder.

"Well…if you don't want anyone to see us, you better move faster." He picked her up by her waist and began to run for the room.

"Put me down." She struggled but wasn't much of a match for his physical strength. "Jet, I'm being serious." She whispered as he threw her down on her bed and landed on top of her.

"Alright, you're down." He looked down to her.

"I still hate you." He removed the piece of straw from his mouth and leaned forward. She put her hands on her chest and pushed him back. "I said I hate you, not kiss me."

"But you were thinking it." He said smugly.

"Good morning." Ty Lee stretched and yawned from her bed. Mai pushed Jet off her and he landed on the ground.

"Morning." Mai nervously smiled. Jet held his head as he sat up.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Uh…breakfast is ready." Zuko stood in the doorway. Mai stood up and quickly walked over to him. Jet glared at him and Ty Lee helped him up.

"Are they back together?" She whispered.

"Yeah." He sighed and they made their way to the group.

"So, Jet, where is the rest of you?" Sokka asked as he ate.

"He means Smellerbee and Longshot." Aang smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I don't know." He shrugged.

"That was some chase before." Toph smiled.

"Yeah, it was…wasn't it?" He said smugly and Mai growled under her breath.

"Hehe…so Zuko…we're firebending at the crack of dawn….right?" Aang tried to start conversation.

"Yeah." He glared at Jet.

"Hey, I'mexploring." Jet stretched his arms over his head and walked down the hall.

"Guys, I don't care what you say, he is still freaking crazy." Sokka watched him disappear down the hall.

"Mhm." Toph nodded in agreement. "Ah well, we already have enough crazy people in this group, what will one more hurt?" She shrugged.

XXX

That night, Zuko walked Mai to her room.

"Goodnight." He whispered and pecked her cheek.

"Night." She smirked and walked in her room. Ty Lee still wasn't there. At least from what she could tell. It was almost pitch black in there.

"Boo!" A voice came and two strong arms wrapped around her waist. Her body jumped.

"Ah!" She struggled until she realized who it was. Jet laughed in her ear. "That isn't funny!" She glared as he let go of her.

"You scare easy."

"It's not my fault you hide and watch me everywhere." She rolled her eyes and sat on her bed.

"Mai?" Zuko walked in. "Are you ok?" Jet stood behind him and made faces as he mocked him with his hand. Mai put her hand over her mouth to try to cover up her laughter.

"Y-Yeah….I'm f-fine." She stifled it.

"What's so?" He looked behind his back and Jet jumped behind the door. "Never mind." He shook his head and faced her again. Mai let out a sigh of relief when Jet stayed hidden. "Do you want to spend the night in my room?" Jet had started making fun of him again until he finished the sentence. His expression got angry and Mai's smirk went flat. She saw him pull out his swords and go to cut him by the neck, though she wasn't sure he would do it, she jumped to her feet and to his side. She used one arm to push Zuko out the door and the other to push Jet aside, without Zuko knowing of course.

"I'm fine, go to bed." She smiled at him and he nodded. "Are you crazy?" She pushed his shoulders.

"Maybe. You know, I'm not going to lie, you look cute when you're mad, maybe even a little when you're sad, but nothing beats seeing you laugh." He lay on Ty Lee's bed. She blushed and looked down. "Why are you with him?"

"What do you mean?" She cocked her eyebrow at him.

"Does he ever make you laugh?"

"Never mind." She lay on her own bed. He jumped on the side of her and she rolled her eyes.

"Can I spend the night?"

"No touching." She rolled on her side and he smirked.

"With just my hands?"

"With anything."

"Damn do you have a dirty mind?" He heard her sigh but when he saw her face her lips were twisted in a smile.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He whispered and pressed his back against hers.

XXX

**I love writing Jet…I really do. I like him with Mai and Azula the most, though! Please review! XD**


	6. Qualities

Disclaimer:

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

XXX

Mai opened her eyes and expected for him to be touching her in any way he could just to annoy her. there was no arm around her waist, though. She let her vision adjust and looked up.

"Good morning." He smirked and she realized that it was she who was on his chest. She gasped and sat up. It was too quick and she fell on the floor.

"Oh come on, am I that bad?" He looked over the edge of the bed. Her face was red with embarresment as she growled. There was a loud crash. "What was…?" They ran out of the room and after Ty Lee woke up, she followed.

The next morning, Zuko walked out of his room to find everyone still sound asleep. Aang stretched and yawned. Then the first firing came. He used airbending to deflect it. A bunch of war blimps became visible as shots of fire came out. Everyone was awake now. Aang shut off their part of the temple and looked to the others.

"Watch out!" Zuko lunged at Katara and they just missed the rocks that would've crushed her. Jet grabbed Mai's hand and pulled her out of the way from being crushed.

"What are you doing?" Katara glared up at Zuko.

"Keeping rocks from crushing you." He looked down to her with a calm expression.

"Ok, I'm not crushed. You can get off me now." Katara stood up.

"I'll take that as a thank you." He sighed and did the same. As they went to take an escape route, Zuko stayed away.

"What are you doing?" Aang asked.

"I'll hold them off! I think this is a family visit." He ran off.

"Zuko!" Mai shouted. Jet grabbed her arm.

"It's too dangerous." There were tears in the backs of her eyes as they went through a small passage. They heard the temple outside begin to crumble.

"I can't get him to go in there! Appa hates tunnels!" Aang said as he, Katara, and Sokka tried to move the ten ton bison into the small tunnel for safety.

"Aang, there's no way we can fly out of here." Katara tried to reason.

"We'll have to find a way." Aang stopped trying to force Appa and looked around.

"We need to split up." Sokka said seriously. "Take the tunnel and get to the stolen air ship." He pointed to everyone that stood in the tunnel.

"No!" Katara said quickly. "The Fire Nation can't separate out family again!" She walked up to Hakoda and Sokka.

"It'll be ok, its not forever." He put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. She hugged her dad and went to run with Sokka and Aang, Sokka stopped running and looked back.

"Are you coming, guys?" Mai cautiously climbed up the bison's tail. Jet rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to the saddle. She clutched the edges as if for dear life. Ty Lee jumped up without a problem. Sokka grabbed Suki's hand and they got on. Toph used her earthbending to jump on Appa.

"I can clear that out of the way and we can get out through here!"

"But there's an awful lot of fire in that general direction." Suki said concerned.

"We'll get through, let's go." Aang said the magic words and they were flying. Making a helmet of earth around Appa's head, they flew right to the blimps that were attacking.

"It's Azula!" Ty Lee pointed. They all looked for Zuko but couldn't find him. Then one of the blimps went up and he appeared standing on top, facing the blimp Azula stood on. Their jaws dropped. He ran and jumped on blimp Azula stood smugly on. In the air, she punched fire at him and he cancelled it out by kicking. He punched fire at her and she flipped to avoid it. Every punch of fire was cancelled out by a kick and a kick was cancelled out by a punch. It went on for minutes, but it seemed like hours. Then, Zuko formed an orange flame on his fist and Azula did the same with her blue flame. The fists hit each other and there was an explosion. They were both blown to opposite ends of the blimp as they fell off. Aang stayed busy avoiding the fireballs that came his own way. As they went under Zuko, Ty Lee grabbed his hand and pulled him in. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He returned the embrace but quickly looked back to his sister that was falling down the cliff. She let go and did the same.

"She's…not going to make it." He whispered. Ty Lee clapped her hand over her mouth, Mai gasped, and Jet just smiled. Azula used her blue flames to steer her to the cliff and she held onto it and smirked at them. "Of course she did." He glared forward as they flew off.

XXX

"Wow, camping. It really seems like old times, doesn't it?" Aang smiled.

"If you really want it to seem like old times, I could…uh, chase you around a while and try to capture you." Zuko smirked as he bit into his piece of bread. Everyone laughed, except Katara.

"Ha. Ha." She looked to her lap.

"To Zuko!" Sokka held up his cup. "Who knew after all those times he tried to snuff us out, today he'd be our hero!"

"Not mine." Jet mumbled and Mai nudged him.

"Here, here!" They all toasted and sipped their drinks. Toph punched his arm.

"I'm touched. I don't deserve this." He smiled.

"Yeah, no kidding." Katara stood up and walked away.

"What's with her?" Sokka asked.

"I wish I knew." Zuko got up and followed her. Ty Lee frowned, he looked so hurt.

"What's with him?" Sokka asked.

XXX

"This isn't fair!" Zuko walked up to Katara. "Everyone else seems to trust me now, what is it with you?"

"Oh, everyone trusts you now? I was the first person to trust you! Remember back in Ba Sing Se? And you turned around and betrayed me! Betrayed all of us!"

"What can I do to make it up to you?"

"You really wanna know? Hm, maybe you could re-conquer Ba Sing Se in the name of the Earth Kingdom. Or I know; you could bring my mother back!" She walked back to the camp.

XXX

That night, after finding out what happened to Katara's mother from Sokka, Zuko sat outside the water tribe girl's tent.

"Watcha doin'?" Ty Lee sat on the side of him.

"Waiting for Katara." He frowned as he tried to keep his eyes open. It was so late.

"Why?" She asked curiously as she played with her braid.

"Because."

"Because isn't an answer." She winked and he rolled his eyes.

"I need to talk to her." He said seriously.

"Did you figure out why she was mad at you?"

"Yeah…sorta." He smirked at her, she still had the biggest smile on her face, but her eyes looked tired. "Why don't you go to sleep?"

"I'll be back!" She smiled and ran off. He rolled his eyes.

"Pst, Mai?"

"Yeah?" She as2ed from where she lay in the tent.

"Why don't you go sit outside with Zuko?" She smiled as she crawled to her friend's side.

"Why is he outside?"

"He's waiting for Katara."

"No." She said firmly. "Ty Lee, can you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"Just…watch that girl with Zuko."

"Is Mai jealous?" She winked.

"Yo." Jet crawled in the tent.

"Why are you here?" She angrily whispered.

"I just wanted to be in on the party, sheesh." He rolled his eyes.

"Ok, I'll do it!" She hugged Mai and exited the tent.

"Do what?" Jet cocked his eyebrow at her.

"None of your business!"

XXX

"I'm back!"

"You can go to bed, Ty Lee."

"Its ok, I'll stay here and wait with you."

"You don't need to do that."

"But I want to." He stared at her quizzically but shrugged.

XXX

"Zuko?" Katara blurted as she walked out of her tent. "What are you doing here?" She grabbed a brush from her bag and ran it through her hair.

"Hi!" Ty Lee waved.

"Katara, I know who killed your mother." She faced him.

XXX

Katara, Zuko, and Ty Lee had their bags over their shoulders. Katara lead them to Aang.

"I need to borrow Appa." She said seriously.

"Why, is it your turn to take a little field trip with Zuko?" Aang joked.

"Yes, it is." Aang's face showed pure shock as he faced her. Katara and Zuko had scowls on their faces, but Ty Lee was still smiling.

"Oh, what's going on?"

"We're going to find the man that took my mother from me."

"Sokka told me the story of what happened. I know who did it and I know how to find him." Zuko explained.

"Um, and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?" Katara scoffed.

"I knew you wouldn't understand." She shook her head and walked away.

"What's going on?" Mai whispered to Ty Lee.

"Katara and Zuko are going on a field trip.".

"Wait, stop. I do understand." Aang stopped Katara. "You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sand benders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?"

"She needs this, Aang." Zuko said bluntly. "This is about getting closure and justice."

"I don't think so. I think it's about getting revenge."

"Fine! Maybe it is! Maybe that's what I need! Maybe that's what he deserves." Her last words were a whisper.

"Katara, you sound like Jet." Aang said seriously.

"Ahem…_right _here." He cut in.

"It's not the same! Jet attacked the innocent! This man…he's a monster!"

"Oh, ok, you can just talk about me all you want and wait…they were sacrifices!"

"Katara, she was my mother too." Sokka stepped forward. "But I think Aang might be right."

"Then you didn't love her the way I did!" She snapped.

"Katara…" He gave her a sympathetic look.

"Pft, ignore me. If you're going against Fire Nation, I want to go!"

"No, too many people going is bad."

"Fine, I'll just stay here with Mai, whatever floats your boat." He shrugged and Zuko threw a black outfit on his head.

"Happy?"

"Can Mai go?"

"What?"

"Or neglect her, whatever makes you think she'll like you more."

"Fine, Mai, want to come?"

"Sure." She rolled her eyes and glared at Jet.

"The monks used to say that revenge is like a two-headed rat-viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself." Aang frowned.

"That's cute, but this isn't air temple pre-school." Zuko rolled his eyes. "It's the real world."

"Now that I know he's out there. Now that I know we could find him…I feel like I have no choice."

"That's the way to do it." Jet smirked.

"Katara, you do have a choice." Aang put his arms out. "Forgiveness."

"That's the same as doing nothing." Zuko cut in.

"Forgiveness my ass. Every firebender from the Fire Nation should die!" Everyone stopped and stared at him. "…sorry." He sat back down.

"No it's not. It's easy to do nothing but it's hard to forgive."

"Its not just hard…it's impossible." Katara walked away.

XXX

That night Katara tied her hair back in front of Appa. She, Zuko, Mai, and Jet had on black, stealth-like outfits.

"So you were just gunna take Appa anyway?" Aang jumped over the rock he and Sokka hid behind.

"Yes!" She said harshly.

"It's ok." Aang looked to his feet. "Because I forgive you…that give you any ideas?" He looked up with a smile.

"Don't try to stop us!" Katar said seriously.

"Yeah, who would've thought Katara would want to do anything bad-ass?" Jet asked and Katara hit him over the head.

"I don't plan to, this is a journey you need to take, and you need to face this man. But when you do, please don't choose revenge. Let you're anger out and then let it go. Forgive him."

"Ok, we'll be sure to do that, Guru goody-goody." Zuko rolled his eyes and Jet snickered as he looked down to them from the saddle.

"Thanks for understanding, Aang." Katara grabbed the reigns and they flew off.

"We need to fine the Fire Navy communication tower." Zuko said as he sat with Mai, Jet leaned against the back, but crawled to the front. "All the Navy's movements are recorded by a messenger hawk." Mai clung to him as she looked down. She hated heights. He securely wrapped his arm around her waist and she smiled. "And every tower has to be up to date on where each other is deployed."

"So once we find the communication tower, we bust in and get the information we need." Katara said from Appa's head.

"Not exactly…we need to be stealthy and make sure no one spots us. Otherwise, they'll warn the southern raiders long before we reach them." They reached land and ran around the walls. Katara formed ice on the water and they all jumped down on it. Katara guided it across the small amount of water until they got across to the land on the other side. They hid behind a building and watched as a few soldiers walked out. They sprinted for the door and got into the vents. They looked down to the guard that was writing something. Katara used waterbending to spill the ink. The man groaned and got up. He walked out of the room.

"Ok, Southern Raiders." Zuko looked through the slots. He pulled out a scroll and unrolled it on the table. "There!" He whispered and pointed. "They're on patrol near whale Tail Island."

"Whale Tail Island, here we come." Katara glared at the map.

XXX

Zuko opened his eyes as the sun went up. He fell asleep on the saddle. Mai was at the back with her back pressed against Jet's. He sighed and crawled to the front of the saddle where Katara sat on Appa's head.

"You should get some rest." He suggested. "We'll be there in a few hours. You'll need all you're strength."

"Oh, don't worry about my strength. I have plenty; I'm not the helpless little girl I was when they attacked."

XXX

They reached the island and quickly ran in. Zuko used his swords to fight off soldiers and Jet and Mai used their own weapons. Katara ran ahead of them. Zuko took the front and kicked the door down. He blocked the firebending attack that came at him with his own.

"Who are you?" The masked man asked.

"You don't remember her? You will soon, trust me!" Zuko held his stance. The man's body began to swing out of control. His face hit the ground and Mai gasped when she realized who was doing it…Katara. She was bending his…blood. Zuko looked back to her but seemed unfazed. "Think back. Think back to your last raid on the Southern Water Tribe." He demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He struggled to talk. "Please, I don't know!" Zuko got on his knees in font of him.

"Don't lie!" He shouted. "You look her in the eye and tell me you don't remember what you did!" He pointed to Katara. Jet and Mai walked to the door to guard. They truly felt out of place. Katara was taking control of another man's body and Zuko was losing his temper…Mai hated it when he lost his temper. Katara's eyes showed rage as she lifted the man and made him face her. Then she dropped him.

"It's not him. He's not the man."

"What? What do you mean he's not? He's the leader of the Southern Raiders; he has to be the guy!" Katara frowned and walked out of the room. Zuko picked the man up by the neck and pressed his chest against the window. "If you're not the man we're looking for, who is?"

"You must be looking for Yan Rah." The man replied nervously. "He retired four years ago."

"Pathetic Fire Nation scum." Jet said from the doorway. Zuko looked over his shoulder to him. His eyes were filled with an amount of hate that even scared Zuko a little. Mai gabbed Jet's arm and pulled him down the hall. Zuko followed.

XXX

As the rain poured, Zuko punched fire in front of the old man's face as he walked. Yan Rah jumped back.

"We weren't behind the bush." Zuko said; referring to the bush that was just burnt. He took a few quick steps forward while holding his stance. "And I wouldn't try firebending again."

"Whoever you are, take my money, take whatever you want. I'll cooperate." He held his hands up as he lay helpless on his back.

"Do you know who I am?" Katara pulled down the black cloth that masked the lower half of her face.

"No…I'm not sure." He hesitantly answered.

"Oh you better remember me like your life depends on it! Why don't you take a closer look?"

"Yes, yes…I remember you now. You're the little water tribe girl…" He gulped.

"She lied to you! She was protecting the last waterbender!"

"What? Who?" Katara glared through the corner of her eyes.

"Me!" She bended the water from the ground and formed a bunch of daggers out of ice. She made them all got at him, but then stopped short. The ice returned to water and splashed on the ground.

"I did a bad thing! I know I did! And you deserve revenge! Why don't you take my mother? That would be fair!" The man pleaded.

"I always wondered what kind of person could do such a thing, but now that I see you I think I understand. There's just nothing inside you. Nothing at all." She walked closer to him. You're pathetic and sad and empty."

"Please spare me!" The man sobbed.

"As much as I hate you…I just can't do it." And they left.

XXX

Katara kicked the water as she sat on the dock. The sun was setting.

"Katara, are you ok?" Aang ran up to her.

"I'm doing fine."

"Zuko told me what you did…or what you didn't do I guess. I'm proud of you." He smiled.

"I wanted to do it…I wanted to take all my anger on him, but I couldn't. I don't know if it's because I was too weak to or too strong not to." She frowned and stood up. "But I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive him." She stood in front of Zuko. "But I'm ready to forgive you." She hugged him and he returned the embrace.

"You were right about what she needed." He smiled to Aang.

"Violence is never the answer."

"Then what do you plan on doing when you face my father?"

XXX

Zuko crawled in Mai's tent.

"Hey." He smiled.

"Hi." She smirked.

"Mai I…I know its hard right now. I have a duty right now and I really want to spend so much more time with you than I get to and…"

"Zuko…you're babbling." She smiled. "Its ok, I understand now." She kissed him gently. "Goodnight." He smiled.

"Goodnight." He crawled out. She sighed.

"Hey." Now it was Jet.

"Do you ever leave me alone?"

"But Mai, my bed is just so lonely without you." He sighed dramatically as he sat beside her.

"That sounds wrong on so many levels." She rolled her eyes.

"Only if you want it to." He winked and she stared at him.

"You are so weird."

"Only for you."

"And gross."

"If you want me to be."

"Will you stop?" She shouted.

"I think you like it!"

"Well I don't!" She crossed her arms and looked away.

"Jeez, you don't need to get so mad." He rolled his eyes.

"I have a boyfriend, Jet and as much as we'd like to pretend I don't, I do."

"_We'd_ like to pretend?" She snapped her neck in his direction.

"I meant you! _You'd_ like to pretend." She said quickly.

"I'm sure ya did. Tell me something, has he hurt you?" He waited for her to answer, but she didn't. "Did he betray you? Did he lie to you? Why are you so eager to be in a relationship like that?" He crawled closer to her.

"Stop." She whispered and crawled back as far as she could.

"Does he appreciate you like I would?"

"I said stop." She whispered as she glanced around, refusing to meet his gaze.

"I already think I appreciate you more than he does." Now he was directly in front of her. "Mai…" He whispered. She felt his warm breath against her skin and felt her face get hot. She wanted to push him away, to force him to leave, but she couldn't. Not because he was stronger than her, because deep down she didn't want to. He kissed her collarbone and trailed up her neck, stopping right before he kissed her lips. She stared into his eyes.

"You have no idea what you're doing…" She mumbled.

"I'll stop now…" He whispered with complete seriousness. She grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss. She ran her fingers through his bushy hair and a light moan escaped her lips as he his tongue danced with hers. He pulled away and looked down to her.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"You already said you don't want me here." He looked over his shoulder as he went for the entrance of the tent. She frowned and looked to her lap. He smirked and crawled to her side. He lay on the side of her and she smiled.

"We can never be together you know." She whispered in a cracking voice.

"Are you going to…"

"No!" She snapped and rolled over so her back faced him.

"Why not? I think it's pretty hot that you would cry over me." He tried to look over her shoulder. She brought her elbow forward and then slammed it back into his gut. He groaned.

"I would not cry over you." She said through her teeth.

"You're a bitch." He faced his back to her.

"I know." She smirked. He rolled back to face the back of her head again.

"I think that's my favorite quality in you." She rolled over now to face him.

"You just don't have many good qualities…sorry." She shrugged.

"Sure I do, I'm pretty built…"

"So is Zuko." She rolled her eyes. He sat up and pulled his shirt over his head. "I think he had more than you." He growled and put his shirt back on.

"Fine, my eyes."

"Do you just check yourself out?"

"Why would you say that?" He smirked.

"Well, how else would you know you have good eyes unless you like stare in front of a mirror all day."

"So…you do like my eyes?"

"You're eyes aren't that bad…I guess." She smirked.

"And my eyebrows."

"What the hell?" She cocked her eyebrow at him.

"You know, the 'point' thing, chicks dig that." He said smugly.

"You do have extremely weird eyebrows." She said in her usual tone as she traced his eyebrow with her finger.

"I do, but you like them."

"Says who?"

"Well, you like me." He shrugged.

"Maybe." She smirked and lay her head down.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

XXX

**Here ya go! Please review! XD**


	7. Second Intermission

Disclaimer:

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

XXX

Mai walked outside to where the others 'sparred'. Zuko was teaching Aang while Sokka and Jet practiced with their swords on the other side. Sparring was fine, but did they all need to go topless? She felt a faint blush on her cheeks and sighed as she looked to Ty Lee, who was sitting Toph and Katara. She reluctantly took a seat on the side of her and watched the firebending with them. Zuko and Aang bowed to each other and Zuko cracked his knuckles as he stretched his arms over his head.

"Doesn't it seem kind of strange that we're hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house?" Katara asked as she looked around her. Zuko took a seat on the side of the fountain. He was sweating like crazy. That wasn't what got Mai's attention, though. On the other side, she saw Suki showing Sokka and Jet a piece of paper.

"I told you our family hasn't come here since we were actually happy." Zuko rubbed the back of his neck with a towel. "And that was a long time ago. It's the last place anyone would think to look for us."

"You guys are not going to believe this!" Sokka ran over with the paper in his hand and Suki at his side. Jet sat next to Mai and she saw Zuko's attention shift over to them. "There's a play about us." He finished proudly.

"When I went in town I found this poster." Suki smiled.

"What? How is that possible?" Katara walked up to them.

"Listen to this!" Sokka began to read aloud. "'The Boy in the Iceberg' is a new production from a claimed Pyri-Pu Ponten, who scattered the world finding information on the Avatar from the icy South Pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se. The sources include singing notes, pirates, prisoners of war, and a surprisingly intelligent merchant of cabbage."

"Brought to you by the critically claimed Ember Island Players." Suki finished reading.

"Not the Ember Island Players." Zuko and Mai groaned in unison.

"Yay! The Ember Island Players!" Ty Lee clapped her hands and smiled.

"Ugh." Zuko groaned. "My mother used to take us to see them. They butchered 'Love Amongst the Dragons' every year."

"Sokka, do you really think it's a good idea for us to attend a play about ourselves?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, it doesn't even look that good. Look, I'm not even on the poster." Jet pointed down to the parchment.

"Come on, a day at the theatre?" Sokka displayed the poster again. "This is the kind of wacky, time-wasting nonsense I've been missing." He smiled.

XXX

So here they were, at the theater. Mai and Ty Lee wore the same outfits they had during their last stay at Ember Island on the beach…with Zuko and Azula. Katara walked ahead of Toph, Zuko, and Mai. She sat and gave room for Toph to sit on the end. Aang walked up the other aisle and sat on the other end of the bench. Zuko sat near Katara and Mai sat near him.

One row up from them, Sokka sat near Suki, who got a corner seat, Ty Lee sat in between him and Jet, who smirked down to Mai and Zuko. Sokka put his arm around Suki. Jet had his extended across the top of the bench.

"Hey, uh…I wanted to sit there." Aang stood up and looked at Zuko.

"Just sit next to Mai, what's the big deal?" Zuko took his hood off and waited patiently. He didn't hear Mai's growl under her breath.

"I was just…I wanted to…ok." Aang finally sat down.

"Why are we in the nosebleed section? My feet can't see a thing from up here!" Toph crossed her arms.

"Don't worry, I'll tell your feet what's happening." Katara smiled excitedly and Zuko rolled his eyes. He wrapped and arm around Mai's waist and Jet glared from his seat.

"Sokka, my only brother." The actress that played Katara dramatically started. "We constantly roam these icy South Pole seas and yet never do we find anything fulfilling." Katara stared blankly and heard a few laughs. She looked at Toph and Jet who were holding back their laughter to the best of their ability.

"All I want is a full feeling in my stomach." The actor that played Sokka smiled. "I'm starving." And the crowd laughed. Sokka and Katara exchanged confused glances.

"Is food the only thing on your mind?" Katara's actress asked.

"Well, I'm trying to get it out of my mind and into my mouth…I'm starving." Sokka's actor repeated and there was another laugh from the audience.

"This is pathetic!" Sokka angrily whispered to Katara. "My jokes are way funnier than this." He pointed to the stage. Toph laughed.

"I think he's got you pegged!" She smiled.

"I thought they were funny!" Ty Lee smiled.

"Everyday the world awaits a beacon to guide us, yet none appears. Still, we cannot give up hope, for hope…is all we have." Katara's actress dramatically fell in the fake boat. "And we must never relinquish it, even to our dying breath!" She dramatically cried.

"Well that's just silly." Katara started angrily with her arms crossed. Everyone behind her was laughing. "I don't sound like that." Toph joined them.

"Oh man, this writer's a genius!" She folded her hands behind her head and crossed her legs.

"You can say that again." Jet wiped a tear of laughter from his eye and Katara glared over her shoulder at him. Aang watched with almost the same amount of boredom as Zuko and Mai. Mai sighed and went to rest her head on Zuko shoulders, but stopped when a few Fire Gummies hit the backs of their heads. She looked over her shoulder to Jet, who was innocently looking at the ceiling and Ty Lee who covered her mouth as she giggled. She growled and looked back to the stage.

"Where did you get those?" Ty Lee whispered.

"On our way in." He smirked and watched her; she wasn't getting any closer to Zuko…good. On the stage a bright light appeared and a fake iceberg came out of the ground.

"It appears to be someone frozen in ice." Katara's actress stated the obvious. "Perhaps for a hundred years."

"But who?" Sokka's actor asked. "Who is the boy in the iceberg?" A smile appeared on Aang's face and he sat up.

"Waterbend, hi-yah!" Katara's actress 'chopped' the circle and out jumped Aang's actress. Zuko smirked; Jet snickered with Toph and Sokka. Ty Lee giggled with Katara and even Mai smiled a little at the sight of the girl who played Aang.

"Who are you, frozen boy?" Katara's actress asked. Aang's laughed.

"I'm the Avatar, silly. Here to spread joy and fun!"

"Wait…" Aang started from his seat. "Is that a woman playing me?" He asked in disbelief. On stage, a beast jumped out from behind…they assumed it to be Appa. Katara's actress gasped.

"An airbender! My heart is so full of hope it's making me tearbend!" Katara's actress got on her knees and hugged Aang's actress's leg.

"My stomach is so empty that it's making me tearbend!" Sokka's actor got on his knees, hugged Aang's actress's other leg, and joined Katara's actress in sobbing. "I need meat!" He cried.

"But wait; is that a platter of meaty dumplings?" Aang's actress pointed to the sky.

"Oh! Where? Where?" Sokka's actor asked. Aang's actress laughed.

"Did I mention that I'm an incurable prankster?" She crossed her legs. The crowd laughed.

"I don't do that!" Aang pointed to his actress. "That's not what I'm like! And I'm not a woman!" Toph laughed again.

"Oh, they nailed you Twinkle Toes!" Now Zuko's ship appeared on stage.

"Prince Zuko, you must try this cake!" Iroh's actor offered a plate. Zuko stared with a scowl on his face. His scar wasn't even on the left side!

"I don't have time to stuff my face! I must capture the Avatar to regain my honor!" Zuko's actor started.

"Well, while you do that, maybe I'll capture another slice." Iroh's actor smiled.

"You sicken me!" Zuko's actor looked back through his telescope.

"They make me look totally stiff and humorless." Zuko pointed out.

"Actually, I think that actor's pretty spot on." Katara smirked.

"Yeah." Mai agreed.

"How can you say that?" He snapped. As if on cue, his actor spoke.

"How can you say that?" His actor barked. Mai and Katara glanced Zuko through the corner of their eyes as a scowl formed on his face.

"It's ok." Mai smirked and went to kiss his cheek. From behind, Jet closed one eye and held the gummy between his thumb and index finger as he targeted. He threw it forward and it his Mai's nose and bounced to Zuko's ear. She glared at him and Zuko looked at her quizzically. "Never mind." She crossed her arms and legs and faced the stage angrily.

"Are you ok?" Zuko whispered.

"Fine." She said in a dangerously low tone. Jet smirked, satisfied with himself and watched the play again.

XXX

Kyoshi Island. That was where they were at in the play now. Jet was dozing off until Sokka's actress spoke.

"Does this dress make my butt look fat?" His actor pointed to his rear and Suki's actress stared. Ty Lee, Suki, and Jet all laughed. Now this had his attention again. Sokka frowned at Suki as she covered her mouth in attempt to hide her laughter.

XXX

They went through King Bumi, pirates, and the Blue Spirit before Jet made his appearance.

"What the hell…my hair is not that spiky!" He leaned forward. "And a flower? It's a fucking piece of grass!" He angrily whispered.

"Shut up." Mai glared at him. He opened his mouth but shut it. The only reason she was in a bad mood was because he 'interrupted' every attempt she made to 'snuggle up' to Zuko or he tried to put the moves on her. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, angrily watching the play.

"Oh Jet, you're so bad." Katara's actress said dramatically and he snorted. He couldn't hold that one back. Katara slapped her forehead and looked at him.

"I never thought about you like that." She whispered back to him.

"I'm sure you didn't." He said smugly. His mood was ok now.

"Don't cry, baby!" Jet's actor spoke and his eyes got wide as his jaw dropped. "Jet will wipe out that nasty town for you!" He pointed as a few stage crew members waved a giant blue cloth that represented the water of the village. Jet rubbed his temples.

"Let me guess, you never thought of her that way?" Mai smirked.

"No I mean, I was kinda sorta with her it's just…when did I ever talk in third person?" He asked.

"Wait, the only thing wrong you saw with that was you speaking in third person?" Sokka leaned forward and looked over Ty Lee to face him.

"Well yeah, I would say all that other stuff, right baby?" He winked at Katara. Her face got red and her expression angry as she faced forward. He looked to Mai, she was mad to, which only made his cocky smile grow. She faced forward again. Sokka gave him a death glare before leaning back. Toph laughed on the side of Katara and she rubbed the back of her neck and ducked down out of pure embarrassment.

XXX

The great divide was skipped over and now they were at Yue and Sokka's final moment together.

"Don't go Yue!" Sokka's actor said dramatically. "You're the only woman who's ever taken my mind off food!" He held Yue's actress's hands and kissed her. "Wait…did you have pickled fish for dinner?"

"Goodbye, Sokka, I had important moon duties to take care of." The actress sat on top of a fake moon crescent which was taken into the sky by the ropes attached to it. "And yes, I did have pickled fish…" Sokka sat with both his elbows on his knees and his back hunched over as his chin rested on his hands, practically in tears. Suki laughed a little.

"You never told me you made out with the moon spirit."

"Sh! I'm trying to watch!" He silenced her and she crossed her arms out of jealousy.

"I think it's cute that he keeps secrets from you." Ty Lee gave her a mischievous grin.

"It's none of your business! Why do you even care?" Suki shot back. Sokka was still too engrossed in the play to notice the girls arguing behind his back.

"Sorry, but if I want Sokka for myself, the first step is getting you out of the picture." She shrugged.

'You little!" Suki went to slap her and their hands went back and forth.

"Will you be quiet?" Sokka asked, never moving his gaze from Yue and tears still filled in his eyes. Both girls huffed, crossed their arms, and glared at each other. The Avatar state was showed and the curtain went down. Toph applauded happily, Zuko and Mai still had scowls on their faces, Katara stared in amazement, Ty Lee and Suki were still pouting, Jet slowly clapped out of boredom, Aang stood up, and Sokka sat up. Zuko threw his hood over his head and Aang groaned as he rested his against the railing.

XXX

They sat outside the building on the steps during first intermission. Zuko stood on the top step with his back rested against the railing, Katara sat on the side of him on the step, Suki sat on the second to bottom step alone, Toph stood on the bottom with her back leaned against the same railing as Zuko's, Aang sat on the bottom step, Ty Lee was walking on her hands on the ground, and Sokka, Mai, and Jet walked out.

"So far, this intermission was the best part of the play." Zuko said angrily.

"Apparently, the play writer thinks I'm an idiot that tells bad jokes about meat all the time!" Sokka sat near Suki and pulled a piece of beef jerky out of his bag.

"Thanks." Jet snatched it as he walked by and stuffed in his mouth.

"And you! Ever call my sister 'baby' again and I'll kill you!" He pointed a finger. Jet just shrugged and swallowed it.

"Hey, those are pretty good." He walked back over. Sokka wrapped her arms around the bag and held it on the side of him.

"Don't touch my meat!" He glared.

"What's the matter, those gummies didn't fill you up?" Mai asked and Jet smirked at her. "No, they didn't."

"Yeah, you pig. How many of those did you even eat, all I was you doing was throwing them at Zuko." Sokka asked with his mouth full. Zuko's gaze shifted to Jet's.

"Come here." Mai pulled him aside. "Are you stupid?" She whispered angrily as they stood out of earshot of the others.

"Only if you want me to be." He winked.

"Just because you're jealous of Zuko doesn't mean you can…" She was cut off.

"Well, well, who was the real jealous one, 'baby'?" He smirked and her face got red.

"Look, what will it take for you to stop?"

"Why don't you sit next to me?"

"No way!" She blurted.

"Alright, maybe I could throw Sokka's jerky this time." He shrugged and began to walk back to the group.

"I'll sit with you." Se glared and walked alongside him.

"There's no room to move in our row!" Toph complained.

"Why doesn't Mai move near Je-I mean, me?" Ty Lee suggested.

"Is that ok with Zuko?" Katara asked.

"If she wants to." He looked into his girlfriend's eyes.

"Yeah, that's fine." She didn't even look at Jet; she knew he would have that cocky look in his eyes. She sat down near Toph and Jet sat beside Sokka.

"I still don't believe it, bad meat jokes!" Sokka angrily threw his arm in the air.

"Yeah, you tell bad jokes about plenty of other things." Suki smirked.

"I know!" He took a bite out of his jerky and faced her.

"At least the Sokka actor kinda looks like you; a woman playing the Avatar doesn't resemble me at all!" Aang frowned.

"I don't know, you are more in touch with your feminine side than most guys." Toph smirked. Aang stood up and growled.

"Relax, Aang. They're not accurate portrayals." Katara smiled. "It's not like I'm a preachy crybaby that can't resist giving over-emotional speeches about hope all the time." Everyone silently stared at her.

"Yeah you are." Jet said as he stuffed food into his mouth.

"Look what you did, Katara!" Sokka snarled.

"What did I do?"

"You made me stop watching him to see if you were being serious and he ate my jerky!" He pointed at Jet.

"Well why are you all looking at me?" She asked as she shrugged her elbows.

"Yeah…that's not you at all." Aang sat back down and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Listen friends." Toph smiled. "It's obvious the play writer did his research. I know it must hurt, but what you're seeing up there on that stage is the truth."

XXX

Jet smirked as Mai hesitantly took a seat on the side of him. The lights dimmed. He yawned and stretched his arm around her shoulder. She rolled her eyes and the play began again.

"Here we are! The Avatar and the Earth Kingdom!" Katara's actress started.

"I better have a look around and see if I can find an earthbending teacher!" Aang's actress enthusiastically flew off the stage.

"This is it! This must be where I come in!' Toph folded her hand in front of her smiled. Sokka rolled his eyes and rested his head on his hand that was propped up by his elbow. Zuko began to read the order of the play that they received, Katara sighed, Suki watched in amusement and Jet scooted slightly closer to Mai. She blushed and went to scoot away. Nobody seemed to notice, thankfully, aside from Ty Lee who winked.

"I flew all over town but I couldn't find an earthbending teacher." Aang's actress still had a smile plastered on her face.

"Here it comes!" Toph smiled.

"You can't find an earthbending master in the sky." A large, muscular man came up from the ground. "You have to look underground!" He threw the fake rock across the stage. Zuko's jaw dropped and he dropped the paper that was once in front of his face. Everyone laughed; even Mai let a light laugh escape her lips.

"Who are you?" Aang's actress asked. The giant actor that played Toph spit.

"My name's Toph." He held up his arms and showed off his muscles. "Because it sounds like tough! And that's just what I am!" Toph cleaned out her ear.

"Wait a minute…I sound like a…guy." She said seriously. "A really buff guy." Then a smile appeared on her face.

"Well Toph, what you hear up there is the truth, it hurts doesn't it?" Katara said smugly.

"You tell her, baby." Jet taunted and everyone glared at him. Mai let out a sigh of relief that he wasn't actually touching her, his arm rested as it extended on the top of the bench.

"What did I tell you?" Sokka asked through his teeth.

"Go ahead and hit me, Sokka, maybe you'll get thrown out." Jet replied. Everyone rolled their eyes and looked back to the play. Sokka angrier than the others. Katara's face got red again as she waited for Toph to answer.

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't have cast it any other way!" She said full of excitement. She giggled. "At least it's not a flyin', bald lady!" Katara glanced at Zuko and Zuko glanced at Aang who obviously took offence in his earthbending teacher's words.

"So…you're blind?" Aang's actress waver her hand in front of Toph's actor's face.

"Ha, ha, ha. I can see you doing that." Her actor pointed to the female that played Aang. "I see everything that you see, except I don't 'see' like you do. I release a sonic wave from my mouth." He opened his mouth and screamed in the other actor's faces. They all winced in their seats, except Toph who was standing with an amazed expression on her face, holding the railing and waiting for more.

"There, I got a pretty good look at you." Her actor smirked and the audience applauded.

XXX

Now it was Zuko and Iroh's scene.

"Zuko, its time we had a talk…about your hair!" Iroh's actor pointed to Zuko's wig. It was now long, wavy, and passed his shoulders. "It's gone too far!"

"Maybe its best if we…split up." Zuko'a actor dramatically walked off the stage.

XXX

And now, it was when Zuko and Iroh reunited to face his sister alongside the Avatar and his friends. She stood in a corner and they all surrounded her.

"Azula, my sister, what are you doing here?" Zuko's actor shouted. The actress that played Azula held her hands up in defense.

"You caught me…wait, what's that?" She pointed to the sky. "I think it's your honor!"

"Where?" Zuko'a actor along with all the other actors and actresses around him turned their backs and faced the sky. Azula's actress ran through a door that the writer's conveniently placed in the corner she was trapped in.

"She escaped." Katara's actress shrugged. "But how?"

"This blows, wake me when it gets good." Jet yawned and Mai nudged him.

"If I need to watch it, so do you." She glared and his eyes got lazy. She snatched his grass from his mouth and his eyes snapped open.

"Don't mess with that." He watched her twirl it between her index finger and thumb. She placed it between her own lips and smirked at him. He smirked back and she didn't like it. He moved his head forward and bit on the end of the grass that wasn't in her mouth. She gasped and he pulled his head away, grass back firmly between his lips.

"Look, it's the drill!" Ty Le whispered as she nudged Mai, who was blushing madly.

"Finally, Ba Sing Se, I think I'm in this part." Jet smiled.

"If she continues drilling, this wall will come down for sure!" Aang's actress frowned as the fake drill moved through the fake wall and Azula's actress stood on top of it. Aang's actress threw a fake rock at Azula's and she whacked it aside and laughed.

"Continue drilling, the city of Ba Sing Se can hide no longer!" She pointed forward. Aang's actress threw a few more fake rocks. The group noticed that not only they were getting bored, so was the rest of the audience.

XXX

"What…the…hell." Jet leaned forward and looked at his actor. Now he was wearing fake, bulging eyes. This was where he was brainwashed. He looked…insane. Well, sure he was at the time, but not like that. They were mocking him! Mai put a hand on his chest and sat him back in his seat.

"No! Jet, what did they do to you?" Aang's actress asked as she held her head with a worried expression.

"Must. Serve. Earth King." Jet's actor stumbled and swung his hook…they weren't even his swords.

"Since when did my hand become hooks?" He asked angrily. Sokka's actor and Aang's actress ducked as they avoided the psychopathic Jet actor's swings.

"Must…destroy!" He slid on his knees in front of the crowd. Then a giant, fake rock came from the ceiling and landed on the actor.

"Did Jet just…die?" Zuko asked.

"You know, it's really unclear." Sokka said, interested.

"No." Jet grunted and they all looked up to him. "Well…I didn't." He retorted and they all shrugged. Mai smirked at him and pushed his body gently with her own. He smiled at her. He bent down to the row of friends on front of him. "Were you worried that I died?" He taunted Zuko.

"No!" The fire prince snapped.

"Seem kind of defensive." He smirked.

"Go away!"

"Fine, I'll go back and sit with Mai." He shrugged and leaned back.

XXX

Zuko and Katara stood in the catacombs.

"You know, Prince Zuko, I really find you attractive." Katara's actress smiled.

"You don't have to make fun of me!" Zuko's actor retorted.

"But I mean it." She sat on the side of him. "I've had eyes for you since the day you first captured me." Zuko and Katara slid away from each other as they looked at each other with disgust. Mai growled from behind and this time, Zuko heard it. He didn't dare meet her gaze.

"Jealous?" Jet whispered in her ear.

"No." She said; eyes still fueled with hatred on the back of Katara and Zuko's heads.

"I think you are." He nipped her ear and she jumped.

"Stop." She pushed him aside and he rolled his eyes.

"Wait!" Zuko's actor stood up. "I thought you were the Avatar's girl!" Aang watched carefully as Katara's actress began to speak.

"Ahahaha, the Avatar?" Her actress stood up. "He's like a little brother to me, I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way." Aang frowned. "Besides, how could he ever find out about this?" The actor and actress embraced each other. Mai crossed her arms and tapped her left index finger on her right arm. Jet snickered to himself. Aang stood up and went to leave.

"Oh, you're getting up? Can you get me some Fire Flakes?" Sokka whispered.

"Yeah and get me some of that jerky Sokka had." Jet whispered.

"Wait! I changed my mind!" Sokka whipered but Aang was gone. "I wanted jerky." He pouted.

And there it was, the decision Zuko regretted most being displayed in front of him. He stood in the center with Azula's actress to his left and Iroh's actor to his right.

"Well my brother, what's it going to be? Your nation or a life of treachery?" Azula's actress offered.

"Choose treachery, its more fun!" Iroh's actor gave a thumb's up. Zuko scowled. They were not only mocking his decision, they had gone as far as to mock his uncle. He folded his hands on the railing and hunched over to rest his chin on his hands. His actor walked to Iroh.

"No way!" Azula's actress shouted. He pushed down Iroh and walked to his sister's side.

"I hate you uncle! You smell and I hate you for all time!" He and Azula walked off the stage.

"You didn't really say that, did you?" Katara asked.

"I may as well have." He looked away from her, ashamed. Mai's actress made her appearance and Jet laughed to himself. She had two giant buns on the side of her head and two knives planted in them. Her bangs covered her eyes.

"Something funny?" Mai glared at him.

"Nothing…just that I think she resembles you." He smirked. She rolled her eyes and hit his chest.

Mai's actress 'threw' one knife and pinned the Earth King to a wall. Ty Lee's actress kissed her index and middle finger and put them on the Dai Li agent.

"I would so never kiss that guy!" She angrily crossed her arms. "He's not even cute!" Mai smirked at her friend. Their actresses stood together and got an applaud. Aang's actress flipped on the stage and lights went out, only a small amount of glowing the actresses.

"Avatar state! Yip, yip!" She shouted. She was pulled into the air by ropes.

"Not if my lightening can help it!" Azula's actress appeared and threw a blue ribbon, which was supposed to represent lightening, to Aang's actress. She caught it and fell to the ground. The three girls stood together. "The Avatar is no more!" The actress that played Azula shouted. The crowd clapped, except the group in the back who didn't respond in any way.

XXX

Katara, Mai, Jet, Toph, Sokka, and Suki stood in the hallway and Toph and Zuko sat down during their second intermission.

"It seems like every time there's a big battle, you guys barely make it out alive." Suki smiled. "You guys lose a lot."

"You're one to talk, Suki, didn't Azula take you captive? That's right, she did." Sokka got in her face. She frowned and then furrowed her brow.

"Are you trying to get on my bad side?"

"I'm just saying." He held his hand up in defense.

"Does anyone know where Aang is?" Katara asked.

"He left to get me Fire Gummies like twenty minutes ago…and I'm still waiting." Sokka said angrily.

"Well I want my jerky." Jet said childishly.

"I'm going to check outside." She walked for the door. Sokka went with Suki to find his actor and give him new jokes and Toph started conversation with Zuko. Ty Lee played with her braid.

"Hey Fire Balls, sorry to cut in on your conversation, Toph." Jet smirked.

"Why did you call me that?" Zuko glared.

"Toph told me to." He shrugged. Zuko glanced at Toph and she just shrugged.

"What do you want?"

"I want to borrow your girlfriend for a bit, is that ok?" He mocked. This would make it easier because it would get on Zuko's nerves and would make Mai slightly more comfortable. Zuko looked behind him and saw Mai standing alone.

"I guess." He glared back up. Jet nodded and walked up to her. He trusted Mai. He had to.

XXX

"Come for a walk with me." Jet smirked at Mai.

"Why?"

"Zuko said it was ok." He saw her glance at him before sighed.

"Fine, a quick one." She followed him. "Do you even know where we're going?"

"Nope." He smirked. He glanced around and saw nobody was around. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into one of the supply closets. It locked from the inside.

"What are you doing?" She barked.

"Oh come on, don't even tell me you weren't waiting to be alone." He walked up to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I already told you I can't do this, its unfair to Zuko." She put her hands on his chest and slightly pushed him away.

"You saw how eager he was to sit with Katara." He smirked and saw her eyes get angry. "How close they were in that play and how often they were whispering."

"He wouldn't do that to me." She said through her teeth.

"If you keep telling that to yourself, maybe one day you'll be convinced." She growled. "You could give him revenge with me right here and now and he would never need to know about it." She stared at him and he waited. She grabbed the back of his head and crashed her lips against his. He moaned as she passionately kissed him. He lowered one hand that was wrapped around her waist and her eyes got wide. She pulled him back with her and slammed her back against a wall, his hand along with it. He gasped at the pain and bit down, on her tongue.

She growled, somehow this had become a fight for power. For him to see how far he could get and for her to see how she could stop him. She pulled away from him as the pain approached in her mouth. He pinned her wrists to the side of her head and began kissing her neck. She felt a shiver run down her spine as he sucked and licked her pale skin. He was winning…he was overpowering her. She slid on wrist from his grasp and he was too busy to even notice. He subconsciously moved his hand to her lower back and she put her foot against the wall. She slid her skirt up and he watched through the corner of his eye with a smirk on his face. She slipped her other hand free and wrapped her arm around his neck. She pulled his face to the side of her neck and he buried it there. She lifted the other side of her skirt so he couldn't see and pulled out a knife that was on a band wrapped around her thigh.

She put the knife to his neck and he stopped kissing her when he felt the cool, sharp blade touch his skin. He backed away.

"You're gong to far."

"So…you like it kinky?" He smirked and she snarled. "Don't play so hard to get." He smirked and walked up to her. He quickly lifted her in his arms and put his hands under her thighs to hold her up as her back pressed against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist. "Now be nice and give me a kiss." She watched him and realized he had thrown her knife on the ground. She pecked his lips and he dropped her to her feet. That would be as far as he would get. He picked up her knife and looked into her eyes as he lifted her skirt to her thigh and tucked it in the slot on the band. "We shouldn't keep them waiting."

XXX

"Where were you?" Zuko whispered as Mai sat on the side of him. For some reason, Aang sat in the back row with Sokka, Suki, and Ty Lee. Jet sat on the other side of Mai.

"We got lost.' She lied.

"Very lost." Jet added and she glared.

They watched the invasion, Katara and Aang showed their 'brother and sister' love, Zuko joined the group. But the play continued. To the future. Azula killed Zuko and the crowed applauded. His eyes got wide and everyone around him remained silent. Ozai killed Aang and the crowd jumped from their seats to clap and shout. The group's eyes remained wide.

XXX

They walked him in the night.

"That wasn't a good play…" Zuko frowned as he walked ahead of everyone. Aang stayed behind him, Katara and Toph walked together, then Suki, Sokka, and Ty Lee, but Jet stayed in the back with Mai.

"I'll say." Aang agreed.

"No kidding. Horrible." Katara added.

"You said it." Toph sulked.

"But the effects were decent." Sokka frowned.

"You know what my favorite part was?" Jet whispered to Mai.

"What?"

"The second intermission." He winked. She blushed as she crossed her arms and looked to her feet. That was something she hated to admit, but she enjoyed her ten minutes alone with him.

XXX

**Well, I think I only got 2 reviews on my last chapter. I put a lot of time into this one, so could PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! I know you guys have been adding this to your story alert! It goes right to my mail! So yea…review? XD**


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